CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers began training camp on Saturday looking to turn the page on a tough 2024-25 season. Led by a star trio of Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey, the Sixers expect to get back into contention as long as they’re healthy.
Embiid will have all eyes on him as he looks to find a way to bounce back from a season in which he played only 19 games and did not look like his usual dominant self. He mentioned on media day that there is a plan for him in terms of how to manage him to get through the regular season, but the Sixers would, obviously, love to have him out there sooner rather than later.
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As Philadelphia did real work on Saturday, Embiid was able to participate in practice and even did some up and down work on the floor.
“He did participate,” said coach Nick Nurse after practice. “Like I said, everything right from the start, was live, and he was in there, participating in that stuff. He didn’t do everything, but he did quite a bit. I mean, I think he’s probably told you how he’s feeling, how he’s looking, and he was moving good, and playing hard, and had great spirit out there today.”
Embiid and the Sixers will have to continue working through all of this and prepare him to play as much as he can, but Philadelphia has to be delicate with him. He is so important to their championship goals and will need to deliver a healthy big fella to the playoffs.
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With that being said, him being able to participate in live stuff on Saturday is a huge step forward.
“Yep,” Nurse finished. “Almost everything started live and it was all up and down.”
The Sixers will continue camp on Sunday before they board a plane and head to Abu Dhabi.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Sixers’ Nick Nurse provides encouraging update on Joel Embiid at camp